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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Play It! Pure and Simple #3 Blazblue: Continuum Shift

The basics:An Anime stylized fighting game where each character has a very distinct play style. Beginners can jump in with ease and yet it could take months to years to master the gameplay.

The characters:A darkness wielding, soul draining grim reaper with a bounty on his head.A schizophrenic, crystal ice creating major of a task force unit.A lolita vampire that manipulates elements as often as she sips tea.Also: A cat girl, ninja, puppeteer, blob, and a cyborg all walk into a bar... stop me if you've heard this one.

The gameplay:Every character plays by their own rules. Hakumen for example is based heavily on timing counter attacks against your opponent while Carl requires you to control two separate characters simultaneously (Carl and his puppet sister Nirvana). Ragna drains health with his soul eater techniques while Jin freezes enemies and manipulates ice on the battlefield. The variety in play styles lends itself to higher replay value.

The story:I don't want to spoil anything but I'm going to state that I personally think this has the most developed and complex storyline of any fighting game I've ever seen. The story mode for this sequel adds even more layers of depth to the ongoing storyline of Blazblue and many secrets are revealed.

The modes:There are copious amounts of noteworthy modes to dive into but the one that sticks out the most for this sequel is the Tutorial Mode. This is the only in-depth fighting game that I know of that offers something like this. It literally takes you by the hand and teaches you movement, counters, cancels, combos, and more.

If you're into fighting games and Anime then this is a must have title. If you aren't into those things normally, you might want to check this one out thanks to the tutorial modes and easy to use control layout. There's plenty to enjoy that I haven't even touched on but this isn't a full review. I am merely attempting to entice.

This is Kylak signing out and rapid canceling into a distortion drive.